27 weeks

I am really trying harder with this pregnancy to document my ever growing baby bump.  It has been interesting being pregnant with number four after such a long gap in pregnancies. With my second and third pregnancies I definitely showed sooner with each and my belly was larger as well.  This time around, it took much longer to show than those.  I think it definitely helped having time for my body to recover sufficiently between pregnancies.  I am intrigued to find out whether I end up smaller towards the end of the pregnancy as well.   

So far I still continue to have text book pregnancies, no complications which is great. The ultrasound at 19 weeks showed an active, healthy baby girl with all the vital organs functioning properly.  I am measuring right on schedule with my OBGYN check ups.  Yes, certain "fun" pregnancy complaints have worsened this time around. The heartburn has been much worse this time....as in I can hardly eat anything worse. Orange juice, red sauces--spaghetti sauce, spicy, fatty, fried food, fish, stroganoff, beef tacos, certain salads, creamy soups, broccoli, chicken penne pasta

Skiing at Sunapee

As baby girls due date approaches, we decided to squeeze in a family ski day before I get any bigger. I think this was officially my last ski day until next winter. We had a fun day together that ended in drama (as usual).  The day started off great skiing with all the kiddos. This was there first time since last winter, so it took a few runs for them to feel comfortable on their skis.  Eli and I immediately headed to the magic carpet and I have to admit, he did phenomenal.  He skied down that area a whole bunch of times independently, doing little turns here and there.  We then headed up to the ski lift and went down several times using the backpack reins.  Once again, things went pretty well on the bigger slope.  I wish we had more ski days this year to really allow him to learn better and become a little safer on skis.  

When we were finished skiing for the day, we headed up to Hanover/Lebanon area to visit friends and have dinner together.  When we were almost there Eli started playing with the ski poles in the backseat.  Incredibly he smacked the pole into window and broke the window.  There is now a half dollar size hole in the window and the rest is spider-webbed. Jesse was beyond mad when this happened and pulled over into the Ledyard parking lot next to the Conneticutt river to check on the window.  He parked on a down hill spot that was unfortunately had a large spot of ice.  Once he was done inspecting the window, he attempted to back out of the spot to head to our friends house.  That was when we learned that we were now stuck.  Needless to say it took another forty five minutes, a cracked front bumper from rocking in and out of our spot, and a nice professor with rock salt to free us from the ice.

Despite this very expensive experience, we still managed to have a fun time visiting the Monteleones and I especially enjoyed snuggling baby Jackson.  Too soon, it was time to head back home.

Someday we will laugh at this experience, but today was definitely not the day.  Like I said, it's always an adventure for us when we go anywhere.

Robby bundled up and ready to head out on the slopes

Eli cracked me up with his bundle of clothing.  He sort of reminded me of Ralphie from A Christmas Story 

My ever growing bump, and my disappearing feet/ski boots at 27.5 weeks 

Maddie couldn't contain her excitement at getting back out on the slopes for the day.

I love this picture of Jesse with our older two on the ski lift ahead of us

Mr Eli and I on the ski lift; he wasn't exactly pleased to have to ride the lift with mom.  He has turned into a total Daddy's boy the last year or so and wanted nothing to do with me.  He was pretty upset during one run, when we got to the bottom of the hill and Daddy wasn't waiting for him at the bottom.  Upset as in sitting on the ground, sobbing his eyes out upset. He was only appeased when Jesse finally made his way to the bottom and he was able to ride the ski lift with his Daddy :)

The Preserve Apartment: M/E bedroom

It has taken WAY too long to finally get our apartment in order, but in attempt to better remember our lives in Walpole, I am finally getting around to snapping shots of our place.  As always, there are definitely things that aren't finished.  Without further ado, here is the current state of Maddie and Eli's bedroom.  I still need to hang curtains, buy a cute trash can, and get a matching rug for the floor.

 {I was so excited to find this cute white dresser on Craigslist recently for $150 that has worked perfectly in storing the folded clothes---now Eli doesn't have to go into Robby's room to retrieve underwear, socks, pajamas, swimsuits, etc.)

I was a little unsure about pairing up Maddie and Eli when Jesse first presented this idea for rooming arrangements.  I thought it might be weird putting a girl and boy in the same room.  I figured it would totally mess up the decorating, I thought that Maddie might pitch a huge fit, and I didn't know how we would arrange the split up of boy toys.  Luckily, this arrangement has been very successful.  These two have grown a lot closer over the past six months and they seem to get along very well.  Eli loves being the baby child and Maddie loves to mother him.  I frequently here them giggling in there together (especially at night time when they are supposed to be going to bed). Somehow we managed to separate out the toys, and this has actually made each bedroom much cleaner than before.  In return, Robby has really enjoyed having his own space to play, read, and rest without constantly being bothered by the younger brother.  

Who know how the next six months will play out with a new baby GIRL coming, but for now we have enjoyed watching these two little kiddos and their blossoming friendship together. 

Snowflake Classic

{My cute Maddie decided she wanted me to do her hair with her bangs pulled out of the way.  I couldn't believe how much more grown up she looked with a new 'do!}

5th place on Vault: 8.65

 4th place on Uneven Bars: 7.8

 4th place on Balance Beam: 8.75

 2nd place on Floor Exercise: 9.0

 4th place All Around: 34.2

After several rough gymnastics meet for Miss Maddie, she came out so strong on her third gymnastics meet this year. She walked into the meet saying "my goal is to place on more than one thing"....and she definitely did that.  Her other goal was to make it through her bars routine without any major breaks and she also did that!  I couldn't get enough of those grins on her face as she proudly accepted her awards.  It made driving through a scary snow storm to get there much more worth it.  Thank goodness the ride back was much better.  

24 weeks

I have officially, officially popped out as they call it. No mistaking me being pregnant now. My kids think it's pretty amazing and ask every day how big the baby us, how much does she weigh, how many more months or days until she comes, how much bigger will your stomach get mom, etc.  Robby had a cool moment today where he felt her kick for the first time. I loved seeing his face light up when this happened! Now he follows me around wanting to kiss, pat, and hug my baby bump. This little one is going to be loved......that is for sure. I am loving the thought of two big brothers as her protectors.

Life continues to remain busy, stressful at times, cold, tiring and challenging. Somehow we always power through and survive. I'm officially on the countdown with my current work assignment, 5 shifts to go and then possibly one more contract before baby. I love my kids, I love my husband, I love the Lord. Life is good.

I'm Back (sort of)

After a long, exhausting, exhilarating summer full of road trips, vacationing, visiting family and friends, indecision, laughs, date nights, lots of change, and one month as a single Mom we are officially getting settled in our new home: Walpole, Massachusetts! You forget how much work moving is, until you are in the thick of it, and even worse once you have to unpack and resettle your lives.  We are nearly there and so I can safely say that one of my goals over the coming few weeks is to return to blogging!  I'm going to attempt to catch up our lives but no promises it will ever actually be complete.  Either way, we are happy to be in our own place again (even if it is the third story apartment and we have a cranky, older woman that lives below us and hates noise of any kind).  We are happy to have Jesse working crazy hours, thus providing us income again.  We are happy to have the children all settled into school for the year.  Now it's time to branch ourselves out and get some friends out here :)

Until then, I've got a blog that can keep me some company..... 

Picking Peaches

We found this adorable farm on our way home from taking Maddie to gymnastics.  On a whim we stopped and decided to check out what you could pick. (Eli didn't even have any shoes with him)  We were so glad we did this.  They had the most delicious peaches and nectarines ready to be picked and enjoyed.  The boys and I purchased the bag and off we went.  We had a wonderful time selecting the juiciest, ripest peaches on the trees.  

When this was done, we decided to walk around for a bit.  The boys loved all the farm animals you could see and pet.  They also loved the fun old fashioned swings, slides, and gigantic sand box.  What a fun day was had by all!  

I was so excited about this find, that four days later I took all the children back there.  To my disappointment the peaches were no longer being offered to pick.  Thank goodness we had stopped the week before.

Blocks

Eli was so excited and proud of his building that he created with blocks. When it accidentally got knocked over that excitement turned into despair with many tears shed. After that he was determined to get a picture next go round that way he wouldn't forget how he made it! I absolutely cherish this age right now. He says the cutest things, adores his mama, is normally excited about new things, and is quite the comedian.

Strawberry Picking

Now that school is out and we are fully immersed in packing and preparing to move, we have been pretty busy.  And not in a fun day for my little kiddos.  Because of this, we have to find activities at least every few days that are purely for pleasure.  Today we decided to check out the local strawberry field and pick us some berries!  Robby wasn't sure if he would enjoy this, but luckily he changed his mind!  He turned out having a blast picking the "juiciest, reddest" one's out there.  We also brought our cute neighbor friend, Natalia, to do one last activity before she left with her family that evening.  We are sure going to miss our fun neighbor friends.

Natalia, Maddie, Eli, and Robby

Kind of a blurry picture of myself, but I had to document the fact that I was also there :)

 Robby wanted to make sure I took a picture of him eating a delicious strawberry!  He has the craziest hair right now that is in desperate need of a trim

TP Besties

I cannot believe I am already writing this farewell friends post.  Two years have gone by way too quickly in many ways.  I remember how nervous I was moving all the way across the country in 2011.  Three lovely ladies made that move much more tolerable and easier.  I knew that once we all got to New Hampshire, we would all be living in the same neighborhood, while our husbands attended the same graduate program, all living far away from our families.  The best part was that I already knew our personalities clicked after spending admitted student weekend together.  It was like having built in best friends.

Once we all arrived, we immediately became fast friends.  These were the ladies I could count on day in and day out to listen to me when I complained too much, without ever telling me to stop complaining.  They have all offered advice and encouragement when I have been discouraged, with patience.  We have been able to share exciting news with one another whether big or small.....pregnancies, births of new babies, personal bests on running achievements, husband internships and job offers, clean houses, happy children, fun vacations, etc.  We have also uplifted one another through hardships as well.  We have all worked together to make every small birthday and holiday a big celebration.  We have ran together, cried together and even laughed so hard that we were once again crying together.  They have been here as I have continued to grow older and become more confident as a mother.  They have seen me at my very worst and at my very best.  They have been the reason that these past two years have been some of the happiest years of my life.  They are all an inspiration to me.  

Each of them are amazing mothers, friends, wives, sisters, and daughters of God.  They inspire me to try a little harder every day.  They remind me just how important friendships are in our busy lives, especially as women.  They have all taken precious time out of their lives to get to know and love me and my children.  They know me well enough to know many of my flaws, and yet they still love me.  Not only are they all beautiful on the outside, they each have incredible spirits.  They are kind and loving, funny, sarcastic, selfless, creative friends.

As we all prepare to move far away from each other, it absolutely breaks my heart to have to say goodbye to them.  I honestly can't imagine finding a better group of friends anywhere else in the world.  The only thing holding me together right now, is the knowledge that we will continue to get together for girls trips, reunions, joint family vacations, and races.  

Thanks Michelle, Maren, and Andrea for your friendships.  I will always think of you as my family.  I will always remember all the great memories we have shared together.  You will each have a piece of my heart wherever life takes you.

Tiffany (me), Michelle, Maren, and Andrea